So...I've become very obsessed with a project I'm working on and looking for a little advice for those who are more on the storytelling spectrum. This is the first "writing" writing endeavor I've undertaken in years and thanks to deep seeded perfectionism, I need to do this right. I was hoping for some advice. My experiences with fiction are mostly in a short story or novel writing context. It was one of the things I went to school for, but after years of mental health created writers block and that perfectionism I'm a bit rusty. So I was hoping someone could help me with this question I have (You're probably thinking "get on with the question already!").

There are few things I've having trouble grasping in terms of transferring it to a sims included context. My main question is what to show through images and what to write. The reason I ask is I'm planning a scene later on with two characters in a bar and they start dancing. While I can convey certain things via the images, there are details I'm not sure I'm able to capture. A better photographer might, but this one detail would either take a better photographer or a much, much better photoshopper.

The actual question is...Is there a line where you become too descriptive when paired with images? Maker! I feel like such a moron!

I'm an extreme perfectionist too and it's such a good trait to have but sometimes it just eats at you!! I totally understand. The best thing you can do is not over-think it before you do it and then over-think it after you have it - for all my sims chapters (which are observational and not writerly, admittedly) I take close to 200 pictures and usually cut it down to 50-60 in post and I find that sooo much easier than trying to pre-plan everything perfectly because if I pre-plan too much I just never get it done and it stresses me out

I would say there's not a line! It's all your own style and there's no right way to do it; the only 'right' thing to do is to continually refine your style as you do more and more things. And you'll find a way which 'fits' you. A good example of this is in my own poetry tbh, I write my poems in second person free verse (using "you" instead of "I" or "he/she/they" and not rhyming) and that took me yeaaaars to find and be happy with. I have loads of rhymed poems and third and first person poems and as I experimented more I found myself feeling comfortable with using the second person. The same would happen with your story writing!

My suggestion for you is do the scene, take too many pictures, and edit down when you're writing. And also write too much!! Because it's easier to cut down than add to. There's no perfect balance because it's all case-by-case and person-by-person imo

I'm not a writer at all. I'm doing good if I can string two sentences together. I think most simmers are writing stories and use the photos to embellish/enhance the story. That way you can write whatever the hell you want and just use the pics as a visual expression. The pics don't have to show everything you want to write, does that make sense?

I think it's very easy to overthink yourself when writing simlit - or stories of any kind. Out of all the writers I know, several have developed their own style. I like to use pictures to enhance the story, but to also foreshadow in the story too - doing things that words cannot. I typically do a decent chunk of images per chapter for this reason to break up the text.

On the other end of the spectrum, I know/read stories that have only a handful of pictures and a bunch more text per picture. Both ways of doing it are completely fine, honestly. To me, what's more important is finding a style you like, because when YOU like it, it shows. The passion is really what makes a good writer and I can tell you have a lot of it - it shows in your perfectionism! Do what you love in the pace that you love with the style that you love and people will love it too.

It sounds too simple to be true, but honestly that's the best advice I ever heard and the best advice I could possibly give.

I can't even begin to tell you how many mistakes I've made, or plots I've bungled... characters I've struggled with... but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter because I love it. I love writing it. Even though sometimes it takes me months to get the strength to update... or if I've changed my mind 19 times and had to tweak chapters to fix plotlines so it's consistent... even if no one READS my stories I'll still love them.

Anyways, don't stress yourself out too much, just find what YOU feel is best and if you're really nervous about it, post something like it and send it to a small group to get feedback.

I'm so excited for you! I wish you the best of luck and if there's anything I can do, please don't hesitate to ask! Us writers have to stick together! Even if you don't share it, I have a good feeling about your story - I bet it'll be great!

Personally for me, it's what you want to show and what you want to lead up to the reader's imagination. It also depends on if you get pictures first or write out the chapter first. It changes things dramatically. The worse mistake I made with my story was overthinking it to the point I couldn't write it. Perfectionism is not always your friend. Just reminds yourself that you are writing it for *you* and not for anyone else. It's a learning process and finding what works best for you takes time. Just my little cup of tea (or coffee). You got this.

"I saved their asses from a dragon, but nooo, the bucket was over the line."